General News
5 January, 2023
Local rental affordability “acceptable”, report finds
Despite a slight dip in rental affordability, Maryborough has continued to perform well, keeping its housing-stress in check — but realtors say limited supply remains an ongoing issue. Disparity between demand and supply, with the former...
Despite a slight dip in rental affordability, Maryborough has continued to perform well, keeping its housing-stress in check — but realtors say limited supply remains an ongoing issue.
Disparity between demand and supply, with the former significantly exceeding the other, has resulted in the town’s affordability levels to be labelled ‘Acceptable’ with a Rental Affordability Index (RAI) score of 149 in quarter two of 2022, a demotion compared to its previous ranking of ‘Affordable’ (RAI 159 in quarter two 2021).
Released late last year, SGS Economics & Planning’s Rental Affordability Index (RAI) report showed that for most household groups, living in Maryborough was not heavy on the pocket — with around 20 percent of their total income spent on rent.
However, for some unaffordability is a looming matter. Pensioner couples are categorised as ‘Moderately unaffordable’ while single part-time worker parents on benefits are ranked ‘Unaffordable’ on the index, with almost 38 percent of their income going towards rent.
Across regional Victoria, affordability has also decreased, reaching “a historic low, being considered Acceptable (rather than Affordable) for the first time”, the report said.
This trend in reduced affordability can be tied back to increased demand, Professionals Maryborough Real Estate director Coby Perry said.
“It’s due to limited supply and high demand — there are minimal rentals available in the region. That’s in a way pushed that surge in price,” he said.
Compared to other regional centres, Mr Perry said, Maryborough is still doing relatively better.
“Just in comparison to other areas, like Ballarat and Bendigo, we’re still much more affordable than those places. We’re still far behind other markets in terms of purchase price and rent price per week,” he said.
“I still think Maryborough is an affordable town to be in because we do see a lot of people moving to the area through affordability, whether that’s buying or renting.
“Our affordability is still quite good in that matter.”
Mr Perry said it was hard to predict how the town’s housing stress will change over time, but he hopes things remain stable.
“We’ve got a lot of predictions going around, pre-COVID and post-COVID, and sometimes even experts aren’t right,” he said.
“It’s hard to say what the future will hold but I feel our market with the rentals will remain steady.”